NYT’s David Brooks sneers at Herman Cain: ‘Running for office is a job for professionals’ [VIDEO]

On Friday’s broadcast of NPR’s “All Things Considered,” host Robert Siegel asked New York Times columnist David Brooks if the surfacing of sexual allegations from the late 1990s reported by Politico last week was “the beginning of the end” for businessman Herman Cain’s presidential run.

Herman Cain-mania has captivated the political media for the last three to four weeks, but Brooks said it will inevitably fizzle.

“There was no beginning,” Brooks said. “He was a TV show that lasted for a little while. Let me stand up for elitist insiders — this is a job for professionals. Running for office is a job for professionals. Governing is a job for professionals. What Herman Cain did this — let’s leave aside the harassment, his handling of this was completely unprofessional. Every amateur candidate knows how to do a better job than this. You find the information, you lay it out clearly. And he couldn’t do the ABCs of running for office. So, as far as I can tell, he is what he has been — an entertaining, very likable TV show, who will — when it actually comes time to cast votes — people are going to go with the only one candidate who seems plausible.”

As for his success to date, where he is either tied or winning in many polls, Brooks chalked that up to it being the early going in the nomination process.

“That’s because we’re in the silly season,” Brooks said. “Why not go for the guy who makes you feel good? It’s free and it’s easy.”